• 10Mar

  Q: Who’s Watching my Points?

  Dog Agility Competing No Comments

  Q. In AKC agility, when you get into Excellent B and you start getting points for your MACH, who keeps track of the points?

  A.  The AKC has a computer system that keeps track of all qualifying scores and points earned in any of their dog sports.  To see points earned as calculated by the AKC, go to www.akc.org and log in to the online store.  Click on “AKC Reports” then “points and Awards”.  Enter you dog’s information and click “View Points/Summary of the Title Progression for this do.” This will display a free report that shows your dog’s information in detail, including what events have occurred but are not yet included in the repot.  Even handlers who keep their own records should check the AKC site periodically to make sure that an error has not occurred.

  Actually, every handler should record his or her own accomplishments in some way.  Occasionally, qualifying scores are lost or points are miscalculated.  The best way to make sure that your championship points are recorded properly is to confirm that your score is recorded correctly at a trial.  You can do this by checking posted results before you leave the trial and keeping your own accurate records that you cross-check with the AKC’s listings.

  © Clean Run

  

  Tags: agility competing, agility organizations

• 09Mar

  Recording Your Runs

  Dog Agility Competing 2 Comments

  Every Q you get heads somewhere, but where? And if you do different organizations and trials how do you keep it all straight? A record book can help you keep it all straight. You can use a notebook, or an actual record book such as we carry! The record book holds all your dogs’ important information (shots records, emergency numbers, etc.) as well as pages for runs, trials and titles! Plus there are sheets for Agility Club information and agility friends. It’s in a three ring binder for easier access, and has all the major venues inside (AKC, USDAA, NADAC, UKC, and CPE) - and many of the less common ones are available on request.  Have everything you need for your trial available in one book! It’s the little black book of Agility! …except it’s red.

  When you’ve completed a title, the agency knows and will send you notification, but it’s much more fun to keep track yourself.  That way you can tell yourself, and your dog that “Hey, sweetie, if we Q today, you’re a Mach! let’s go.”  Maybe your dog doesn’t care… but maybe he does!

  

  Tags: dog products

• 08Mar

  Understanding Scoring

  Dog Agility Competing No Comments

  Many people have difficulty understanding their scoring, especially beginners to the sport. I’m going to go over the information here in an attempt to help everyone learn what their scoring actually tells them. This is an example from one of Ruger’s runs.

  Distance: 177 yards SCT: 67 seconds Excellent A Pref 20 inch Judge: Kurt Matushek
  Place Name Time TFlts RFlts WCFlts TblFlts E/F Score
  Ruger/L.Freed 60.21 0 1 0 0 2 Elim

  The Distance is the total yards the dog must run. This is measured by the judge prior to running the course. You will see the judge out there with a measuring wheel, checking the yardage.

  The SCT:67 seconds means that the course should be completed within 67 seconds. SCT = Standard Course Time.

  The rest of the information tells me that I was running in Excellent A Preferred at 20″ and my judge was Kurt Matushek.

  The second part of the scoring is where people often are clueless. So I’ll explain what it means. The top row is labelled with the headers: Place, Name, Time, TFlts, RFlts, WCFlts, TblFlts, E/F, and Score. Directly below these headers will be the information pertaining to your run. Place is if you ran a qualifying run and got a ribbon placement. You would have 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th under Place. Obviously in this example Ruger did not Place. Name is self explanatory, the dogs name/owner name. Time is the amount of time it took your dog to run the course. TFlts =Time Faults, this indicates the amount of time you went over the SCT. RFlts = Refusal Faults, this will show any/every time you had a refusal on course. WCFlts = Wrong Course Faults, will show any/every time your dog went off course. TblFlts = Table Faults, which indicates any fault occuring at the table. E/F = Error/Fault indicates any errors or faults other than the previously listed ones. Things like dropped bars and missed contacts are indicated under the E/F heading. Score, will show if you were Elim (Eliminated) or if you Qualified (Q).
  I hope this helps to understand the scoring a little bit. And I hope that all of you have better runs than the one Ruger ran on this day!!

  ~ Thanks to Linda Freed at http://agilityteamair.wordpress.com/ for the above entry~

  

  Tags: agility beginners, agility competing

• 25Feb

  How To Survive Your First Agility Trial. (Part Five- You Did It!)

  Dog Agility Competing 1 Comment

  After your run, let your dog relax. Give him a treat and put him in his crate and leave him alone until your next run.

  If it is hot at a trial DO NOT GIVE YOUR DOG ICE WATER OR ICE. Dogs have bloated from doing this (a serious medical condition that if not treated promptly can lead to death). Cool water is fine, but skip the ice. Most trial sites will have a hose or small pool to cool off your dog.

  The most important thing to remember is to have fun with your dog. This is a GAME, and we play it to enjoy ourselves, our dogs, and our fellow competitors.

  ~ Thanks to Linda Freed at http://agilityteamair.wordpress.com/ for the above entry~

  

  Tags: agility beginners, agility competing

• 18Feb

  How To Survive Your First Agility Trial. (Part Four- Now GO!)

  Dog Agility Competing No Comments

  When you are on course, remember the “four paw rule”. If your dog gets on an obstacle with all four paws, and he jumps off, you MAY NOT put him back on that obstacle, move on to the next one. If your dog drops a bar, continue to the next jump, etc. If your dog gets the zoomies, or you get hopelessly lost, just try to do some of the obstacles and finish the course (after all you paid your entry fee, you might as well get some practice time in). If things go really badly, you can kindly say “Thank you” to the judge and take your dog out of the ring.

  When exiting the ring (in AKC) you must have your dog ON LEASH before you leave the ring. This is vitally important and could cost you a Q if you fail to do it. Your leash will be by the exit gate. Get your dog under control quickly and leash him before you walk out of the ring!!

  Scores are usually posted on computers near the score keepers area. You are welcome to check your score there after your run to see how it went and if you Q’d or placed.

  (Part three here) (Part Five coming soon!)

  Thanks to Linda Freed at http://agilityteamair.wordpress.com/ for the above entry~

  

  Tags: agility beginners, agility competing

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